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  • October

    “I have two messages for USACE. First, I think the better part of the Corps of Engineers’ history has yet to be written and, second, remember the true meaning of our motto ‘Essayons’.” Maj. Gen. Micheal Walsh, deputy commanding general for Civil and Emergency Operations, will retire Nov. 30, 2013, after a 36-year career in the U.S. Army.

    Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh retires, has two messages for USACE

    One of the nicest guys in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will retire Nov. 30, 2013. Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh gives a self-deprecating chuckle. “Well, I don’t know about being the nicest guy in USACE. I just believe that everybody brings something special to the office. Many times being a leader means finding that specialness in everybody, and bringing their talents forward. That’s what I try to do.”
  • Joe Woods has published his fifth novel, Secrets of the Spiral Tower. Woods retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Vicksburg District in 2003 after a 40-year career in federal service. He started writing in 1992 while recuperating from a severe heart attack.(Photo courtesy of Joe Woods)

    USACE retiree publishes fifth novel

    Many federal employees dream of retiring to a house by a lake and writing the Great American Novel. Joe Woods actually did it. His fifth novel, Secrets of the Spiral Tower, was published Oct. 15. Joe Woods, a Mississippi native, worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the Tahoe National Forest for two years. He returned to Mississippi and worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Vicksburg District for 38 years, retiring in 2003.
  • Over the next several months, the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will construct six sanctuary oyster reefs along the Elizabeth River and surrounding tributaries, all part of a 10-year, $70 million, 411-acre comprehensive environmental mitigation plan accompanying the Corps' Craney Island Eastward Expansion Project.

    New Hoffler Creek resident enhances neighborhood’s quality-of-life

    Around the muddy banks of Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve in Portsmouth, Va., a new home for Virginia's eastern oyster took shape Oct. 16.
  • Over the next several months, the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will construct six sanctuary oyster reefs along the Elizabeth River and surrounding tributaries, all part of a 10-year, $70 million, 411-acre comprehensive environmental mitigation plan accompanying the Corps' Craney Island Eastward Expansion Project.

    New Hoffler Creek resident enhances neighborhood’s quality-of-life

    A new home took shape on the muddy banks of Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve as the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began developing this prime real estate for occupancy by some of Chesapeake Bay’s famous inhabitants: the eastern oyster.
  • Jim Davis (right), a Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., project manager, looks on as John Evans, a Norfolk District environmental scientist, shows district commander Col. Paul Olsen maps of proposed future mitigation sites. The sites will offset the loss of stream beds due to changes in water levels.

    Continuing resolution reopens district's regulatory office

    Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulatory employees returned to work today after the enactment of a continuing resolution to fund the government until January 15. The employees, environmental scientists and administrative support staff assigned to the Norfolk District’s Regulatory Branch, will restart regulatory operations immediately, said Kimberly Prisco-Baggett, acting chief of the branch.
  • Col. Paul Brooks, Fort Lee garrison commander, presents the 2012 Directorate of Public Works Installation Support Program of the Year Award to Col. Paul B. Olsen, district commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, as Greg Williams, DPW director, looks on. (U.S. Army photo)

    Norfolk District snags installation support award

    U.S. Army Installation Management Command awarded the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the 2012 Director of Public Works Installation Support Program of the Year. The nomination noted Norfolk District’s “team approach in delighting the ultimate customer – the soldier.”

  • Wilmington District achieves National Emergency Management Accreditation

    WILMINGTON, NC - The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Wilmington District, just received accreditation with the Emergency Management Accreditation Program for the district’s compliance with 64 national standards in emergency management programs and practices.

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announces closure of all Regulatory Offices due to federal government shutdown

    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it will close its Regulatory offices due to the absence of available federal funding. During the closure, Regulatory offices will be unable to evaluate individual permit applications, pre-construction notifications for nationwide permit or regional general permit authorizations, or requests for jurisdictional determinations until after current year funding is received and the offices reopen.
  • Jim Davis (right), a Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., project manager, looks on as John Evans, a Norfolk District environmental scientist, shows district commander Col. Paul Olsen maps of proposed future mitigation sites. The sites will offset the loss of stream beds due to changes in water levels.

    District furloughs employees as USACE suspends regulatory operations nationwide

    NORFOLK -- The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will issue furlough notices to 48
  • Jennifer Armstrong (right), a Norfolk District project manager, shows Jo-Ellen Darcy, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, fossilized oyster shell stored at the district's Craney Island Dredge Material Management Area in Portsmouth, Va. The shell is destined to be used in Corps sanctuary oyster reefs in the Elizabeth River as part of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion project environmental mitigation plan. The mountainous piles of shell were obtained from the Commonwealth of Virginia through an agreement between the Norfolk District and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

    Going big: district tackles oysters, Lynnhaven

    Contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving mountains of fossil oyster shell from Craney Island in Portsmouth, Va., to build 16 acres of sanctuary reefs in Elizabeth River and some of its tributaries, while the work to bring environmental restoration on the Lynnhaven River is ongoing.

  • Great Bridge Locks reopen as tidal waters recede

    The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reopened the great bridge lock in Chesapeake, Va.
  • Jennifer Armstrong (right), a Norfolk District project manager, shows Jo-Ellen Darcy, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, fossilized oyster shell stored at the district's Craney Island Dredge Material Management Area in Portsmouth, Va. The shell is destined to be used in Corps sanctuary oyster reefs in the Elizabeth River as part of the Craney Island Eastward Expansion project environmental mitigation plan. The mountainous piles of shell were obtained from the Commonwealth of Virginia through an agreement between the Norfolk District and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

    Going big: district tackles oysters, Lynnhaven

    Contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving mountains of fossil oyster shell from Craney Island in Portsmouth, Va., to build 16 acres of sanctuary reefs in Elizabeth River and some of its tributaries.

  • Great Bridge Locks closed due to tidal waters

    The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the Great Bridge Lock in Chesapeake, Va., due to higher than normal tidal waters infiltrating the lock’s gears.

  • Corps of Engineers Galveston District awards $1.1 million small business contract

    GALVESTON, Texas-- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District awarded a contract in the amount $1,172,000 to Inland Construction & Engineering Inc., -- a certified small disadvantaged business and HUBZone contractor -- to install impressed current cathodic protection systems at the Colorado River Locks in Matagorda, Texas.
  • (From left) Lt. Col. John Van Steenburgh, Office of Security Cooperation Chief for Ghana, Togo and Benin; Linda Smittle, Peace Corps Ghana volunteer and Marcelo Maier, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District special projects engineer pause to point out the location of the Nkwanta Nutritional Rehabilitation Center project on a map of Ghana during a meeting at the embassy in Accra.

    US, Ghana combat malnutrition with new center

    ACCRA, Ghana -- The U.S. and Ghana are teaming up to ease hunger in the West Africa nation. The project, a joint effort by U.S. Africa Command, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Embassy and the Ghanaian Ministry of Health, is designed to improve the health and prosperity of children in the Volta region.
  • Sgt. Maj. Terrence Taylor, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Richard St. Pierre update hurricane response plans in preparation for Hurricane Sandy at the Homeland Security Center of Excellence in Lawrenceville, N.J., Oct. 26, 2012.

    The power to save lives

    After the water receded and wind settled after Superstorm Sandy, the New Jersey National Guard was out rescuing citizens. Whether they found that young child under the rubble or safely guided an elderly man out of his home, was a direct result of the work being performed by the task force at the Homeland Security Center of Excellence, Headquarters in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

  • US, Ghana combat malnutrition with new center

    The U.S. and Ghana are teaming up to ease hunger in the West Africa nation.
  • Solar Power Project at the Homeland Security Center of Excellence in Lawrenceville, N.J.

    The power to save lives

    After the water receded and wind settled after Superstorm Sandy, the New Jersey National Guard was

  • USACE delivers new Outdoor Recreation Complex in Grafenwoehr

    GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – Sunshine, blue skies and a splendid fall afternoon set up an idyllic backdrop for the grand opening of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Outdoor Recreation Complex at Grafenwoehr Training Area.

  • Europe District Forward Engineer Support Team deploys to Jordan

    WIESBADEN, Germany – After a swift training stint and buildup this summer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District’s Forward Engineer Support Team-Advanced is on the move again. The 16-member unit recently left for a six-month deployment to Amman, Jordan.

  • Europe District Forward Engineer Support Team deploys to Jordan

    After a swift training stint and buildup this summer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District’s Forward Engineer Support Team-Advanced is on the move again.

  • USACE delivers new Outdoor Recreation Complex in Grafenwoehr

    Sunshine, blue skies and a splendid fall afternoon set up an idyllic backdrop for the grand opening of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Outdoor Recreation Complex at Grafenwoehr Training Area.
  • Kristin Mazur, project manager for the Norfolk District Lynnhaven Inlet Jetties Navigation Project with the city of Virginia Beach, Va., explains the federal interest determination study process and timetable, Oct. 19, 2012, to add a 1,000-foot jetty in front of the Lesner Bridge. Mazur is also the project manager for Lynnhaven Inlet Federal Naviagtion Channel maintenance dredging.

    Lynnhaven Inlet dredging contract awarded; material earmarked for beneficial reuse

    The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $2 million contract Sept. 28 to maintenance dredge the Lynnhaven Inlet Federal Navigation Channel in Virginia Beach, Va.
  • Pablo Vázquez-Ruiz (center) leads a tour of the Portugués Dam project for a group of engineering students from the American Concrete Institute, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. As president of the Association of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico, Vázquez-Ruiz places a high priority on continuing education and on encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

    Resident engineer assumes leadership role with vision of promoting STEM education

    Pablo Vázquez-Ruiz, south Puerto Rico resident engineer, has been elected as president of the Ponce Chapter of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico as well as treasurer of the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. Vázquez-Ruiz has been resident engineer for the Ponce Resident Office since April 2001.

  • Government shutdown updates for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District is working to manage the impact that a lapse in new funding appropriations will have to programs and projects we oversee. At no time will we compromise projects that have an impact to health and safety. We are managing the impacts to ongoing design and construction projects and expect the impacts to be minimal for the next few days.

  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepare for October 1 closures of USACE-operated campgrounds and day-use parks

    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing for the closure of USACE-operated campgrounds and day-use parks nationwide beginning Tuesday, October 1, if the potential shutdown of the federal government for lack of fiscal 2014 funding legislation goes into effect.

  • September

    Civil engineer Jessamyn Fluitt, Engineering Division, assists students with the water tower construction at the one-day STEM event at the University of North Florida.

    Jacksonville District supports local STEM initiative

    In an effort to pique the interest of middle school students toward science, technology, engineering and math disciplines, Jacksonville District partnered with Mentoring Families and Kids, Inc., at the Second Annual STEM Camp, held at the University of North Florida, recently.
  • A dredge in the Arthur Kill Channel approaching the New York Container Terminal in waters off of Elizabeth, N.J. and Staten Island. The Arthur Kill Channel deepening effort is one of the last construction elements as part of a more extensive harbor-dredging project to create safe and efficient channels for a larger class of vessels that will be calling at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

    Arthur Kill Channel Deepening Provides safe and economically efficient pathway for the newest generation of container ships

    A dredge in the Arthur Kill Channel approaching the New York Container Terminal in waters off of Elizabeth, N.J. and Staten Island. The Arthur Kill Channel deepening effort is one of the last construction elements as part of a more extensive harbor-dredging project to create safe and efficient channels for a larger class of vessels that will be calling at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
  • A dredge in the Arthur Kill Channel approaching the New York Container Terminal in waters off of Elizabeth, N.J. and Staten Island. The Arthur Kill Channel deepening effort is one of the last construction elements as part of a more extensive harbor-dredging project to create safe and efficient channels for a larger class of vessels that will be calling at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

    Army Corps Offers Update on the Arthur Kill Channel Deepening

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are improving the main shipping channels in the Port by deepening them to a depth of 50 feet, allowing more efficient access to the world’s largest oceangoing ships.
  • IWR and ICIWaRM Director Robert Pietrowsky accepts the 2013 LTG John W. Morris Civilian of the Year Award at the National Awards Dinner. Left to right: Major General Todd T. Semonite, Robert A. Pietrowsky, Camille Torquato, Command Sergeant Major Karl J. Groninger

    Awards ceremony recognizes contributions of Civilian workforce

    FORT BELVOIR, Va. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recognized the outstanding accomplishments of its Civilian workforce at a national awards ceremony last month at Fort Belvoir.